Repost: What’s Love Got to Do With It?

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son… John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

It all started with love. God’s creation and His plan for salvation through His Son were due to the pouring out of perfect love by Love Himself. Love will never be displayed in any greater form than through God’s pure and perfect and immeasurable sharing of it to mankind. Don’t know about you, but I’m so undeserving, yet oh so thankful.

As God loves us, so ought we to learn to live in love. How? Bible teacher Joyce Meyer describes the process of living in love this way:

Living in God’s true love is a process. First, God loves us, and by faith, we receive His love. We then love ourselves in a balanced way, give love back to God, and learn to love other people. (Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life – a Daily Devotional)

We love God through intentional and focused worship and by saying yes to His promptings and guidance. We love ourselves by honoring our temple (mind, body, and soul), and being content with and grateful for our blessings. We love others by giving when there’s need, by praying for them, and by sharing His Word. More on giving in next week’s post…

Love is so important in whatever life assignment God has set in us. It means giving up of ourselves so that we can fully serve others. Love must be at the center of our work, it must be our motivation. Without love, there’s no purpose in anything.

Joyce Meyer’s description of how to love is one of my favorites. John 3:16 states the whole point of the Bible. And 1 Corinthians 13, what I call The Love Chapter, is just the sweetest melody of what love is and isn’t:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-5, 7‬ ‭KJV‬‬)

Love has everything to do with it. How will you love God, yourself, and others today?